Hi There, I’m Cody James Cummings

How My Work Is Useful To You

In today’s world, building your own business can feel far-fetched, overwhelming and too complex, especially if you’re someone with big dreams but no clear roadmap.

That’s where my work comes in. Through the Bad Plan Movement and the methods I share, I offer tools, frameworks, and guidance to help you take massive, imperfect action in building the business and life you truly want. My approach isn’t about perfect plans—it’s about starting where you are and continuously evolving as you learn.

I help aspiring entrepreneurs craft their first “Bad Plan,” giving them the structure, confidence, and support they need to move forward.

Whether you’re starting from scratch or refining your path, my work is designed to empower you to take action, iterate quickly, and build something that truly matters.

In everything I do—whether it’s through my newsletter, courses, or mastermind groups—I’m committed to helping you gain clarity, build momentum, and ultimately, design your own version of the American Dream.

I’m happy you’re here.

Husband to Whitley (Leezy) Smith Cummings

From a young age, I dreamed of finding my soulmate and marrying her.

I realized that dream on September 17, 2022 by marrying Whitley Michelle Smith.

Whitley (known around our house as Leezy or LeeLee Lemon) is a nurse on her way to becoming a nurse practitioner. She is (obviously) gorgeous. She also happens to be wicked smart and hilarious.

We are basically opposites, and I think that’s part of why we work so well together. When she sets her mind to a goal, it is as good as done. She sets a high bar for herself and for everyone around her. She is honest to a fault. And she is an amazing cook.

Needless to say, I hit a home run.

We are also the proud parents of the most adorable dog in all the land, a mini-labradoodle named Nola Jane.

Award-Winning Real Estate Agent

• 2018 Birmingham Association of Realtors Rookie of the Year Winner
• 2018 Birmingham Business Journal 30-Under-30 Rising Star
• Co-Host of A&E Network’s Flipping Down South
• 500+ Closed Transactions
• Responsible for $100,000,000+ in Sales Volume Closed

Founder, The Bad Plan Movement

Build a business you love. Build a life that matters. Build your first Bad Plan.

December 7th, 2017 was the scariest day of my professional life.

I was seven months into building a business as a real estate agent. Up to that time, I had earned $1500…for the entire year. Working my ass off to get this business up and off the ground had yielded next to no results. Credit card minimums were mounting.

But I had a deal closing the following day, which would buy me enough time to get past the holidays.

Then I got “the call.” My client reached out in the evening to let me know that, after lots of prayer, she just didn’t think she needed to buy that property. I was devastated.

I found myself face-to-face with what I believe is the greatest problem for every aspiring entrepreneur: Directionlessness, lack of clarity on where to go and how to get there.

I had no idea what to do. Could it be possible I had invested a year of my life into a venture I couldn’t figure out? If I didn’t make this work, what else could I do?

Just when I thought the overwhelm was too much, I saw a glimmer of hope.

I found out about Doctor Jordan Peterson’s Self-Authoring Suite. From the website, “The Self-Authoring Suite is a series of online writing programs that collectively help you explore your past, present and future.” At that time, I had been journaling consistently for more than five years, so my past and present were thoroughly explored.

But the Future Authoring Program changed my life forever, and I did it in classic me fashion.

I created a massive, intricate, 10-year plan.

It was terrible, but it was the best I could make at the time. No joke, the idea was to continue working to sell real estate until I earned enough money to move off my family’s property into my own place in Birmingham. Then I was going to quit real estate, get a job at UAB (the local university), and have them pay for my education to become a clinical psychologist.

This plan gave me the faith and confidence needed to keep working at real estate despite the lack of success.

In January, I made $3500.

In February, I made $14,000, which was an unbelievable sum at the time. I legitimately didn’t know it was possible to make that much money in a month. “Maybe this whole real estate thing will work out,” I thought.

This taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten:

A bad plan is better than no plan.

Then I updated my plan with all I learned to create a better plan, which helped me close 42 deals in 2018, earning multiple times as much money as I had ever made and the rookie of the year award to boot.

That is the power of a Bad Plan in the hands of an aspiring entrepreneur.

And that is the core of the Bad Plan Movement: nothing is more powerful than an aspiring entrepreneur equipped with a written, comprehensive business and life road map (a Bad Plan) that enables massive, imperfect action.

If you are reading this and you are ready to do something with all the potential inside you, then you are ready to create your first Bad Plan. We have a couple of ways to do that, one paid and one free.

The free option is called the Little Bad Plan Challenge, a 5-day email course with prompts and frames to help you build your first Bad Plan that includes a Notion template to use for the build out.

The paid option is called the Big Bad Plan Challenge, a 28-day, in-depth, guided course to develop a comprehensive, custom roadmap for your business and life.

You can find both, and more, by clicking the button below.

Creator of the Things I Wish I Knew Earlier Newsletter

Each Sunday, I share three ideas I have learned about building businesses that change the world and leading a life that matters with thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs in the Bad Plan Movement.

Join me and 2900+ other founders taking imperfect action guided by Bad Plans.

Author of the Top-100 Must-Read Books for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

There is a reason why the best founders in the world are all voracious readers.

The only thing separating great entrepreneurs is how they think.

Think like the pros with this list of books.

Creator of Writing Your Way To More Income: A 5-Day Email Course (Free)

A FREE, 5-day accelerator email course to help you discover how to boost your income, establish multiple revenue streams, and setup your business for exponential growth with entrepreneurial free writing.